Chase Them Away
by kachilee07
Summary: She was in love and happy with her life. So why did these dreams keep invading her mind? All she needs is for him to chase them away. One shot.


**Authors Note: So I really shouldn't be writing this. I should be updating ATW, but this has been on my mind. Probably because I'm not sleeping well either. So hah. There. It's just a one shot. Nothing more. Well. That depends on what you classify as nothing more considering it's in the same 'universe' as my other two chapter stories with the same characters. It's late and I really need to stop rambling and posting things when it's this late.**

**It's suckish, but whatever. I just...needed to do it.**

* * *

She thrashed on the bed, restless. Limbs moving, twitching, as small whimpers escaped her. Her breaths were fast, coming out in hard pants as she trembled. A hand on her shoulder had her eyes flying open. Her body flew up into a sitting position, a half scream escaping her. Before she could flinch away, she was enveloped in a pair of strong arms.

"Shhh. It's okay, babe. I've got you," came her husband's voice, soft, trying to soothe. She trembled slightly in his embrace, trying to pull away. But he just held tighter to her, refusing to let her go. "You're okay, Kate. I've got you," he repeated.

Kate's eyes met his, hers wide and a little panicked.

"Where's Naomi? I need to see her," she said forcefully, struggling in his grasp. James began rocking her slightly, a hand coming up to stroke her hair.

"Naomi's fine. She's asleep in her crib. Just relax, babe," he said softly. Kate shook her head violently and pushed at him.

"No. James, I need to see her. I need to be sure she's okay. Let me – just let me check…"

James sighed and nodded. His arms relaxed around her and she flew out of them towards the nursery across the hall.

When Kate entered the room, she found her daughter just as James had said; sleeping peacefully on her stomach. Kate stretched out a hand, fingertip trailing over her daughter's soft cheek lightly. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

She knew it was ridiculous. Of course Naomi was fine. It was only a dream after all. But Kate couldn't shake it, couldn't get rid of the feeling that came over her when she was taken out of those dreams. So she'd had to check. Had to be sure that it was just a dream. That her daughter was real and safe. Kate was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the padding of her husband's footsteps behind her.

"I told you she was fine," James said quietly to her, startling her slightly. He placed his hands on her shoulders and began to knead them, trying to help her relieve some of the tension that was built up in there.

"I know. I just needed to see her," Kate responded. She felt his lips connect with her left shoulder, causing her to stiffen slightly, a move that didn't go unnoticed by James.

He gave a small sigh. "What was it about this time, Kate?" he asked her gently.

She didn't answer right away. After a few moments of silence, she turned and faced him.

"I'm going to go take a shower."

"It's the middle of the night," James protested half heartedly. He knew where this was going. Kate shrugged and looked away from him.

"I know. But I need to."

With that, she walked back to their room. Within a few moments, James heard the shower turn on from their bathroom. Letting out another sigh, he looked once more at Naomi before returning to their bedroom.

He sat down on the bed and scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration. This was part of what she did when she had these nightmares. It drove him crazy to not be able to help her more, to chase them away. But James knew that he had to let her be. So he sat back and waited for his wife to emerge.

Kate stood under the scalding water, trying to make it even hotter. Maybe if the spray was hot enough, it would burn away the feeling that was crawling across her skin. She hated it. Hated feeling like this. And she knew that James was just as frustrated with it as she was.

It wasn't that she didn't trust him. Quite the opposite. They had already been through all of that. James was her safe place, the one person she trusted with everything. But these dreams that she'd been having were difficult to explain.

They weren't so much dreams as they were nightmares or even memories. And they were intense. To the point that when she woke up, she felt like she was there again. Shaking, helpless and scared. Even when James held her and reminded her that it was okay, she still couldn't shake it. It would crawl across her skin, making her feel anxious, uneasy.

She had to do something, anything to get rid of it. Sometimes she'd go for a run. Other times all it would take would be to hold her daughter close to her. But nights like these she had to do something else. So she'd try to wash it away, the burning water leaving red marks across her skin.

Kate had no idea why they were happening again. She was happy with her life. She had a job she loved and a family of her own. She was no longer the scared girl she was before. She had James there to help her past all of that. So why if she was so happy, did these dreams keep invading her mind? That was something she had no answer to.

When she exited the bathroom, she saw James sitting on their bed, waiting. He gave her a small smile.

"Better?" he asked gently. Kate nodded and shrugged off her robe before climbing up next to him. James frowned at the red marks decorating her exposed skin. He trailed a finger over them. "Do you have to make it that hot, babe?"

Instead of answering, Kate just pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly.

"Talk to me, Kate," James said softly, yet with a slightly forceful tone. His hand cupped her chin, pulling it up to look at him. Hazel met hazel as he looked into her eyes. "What was it this time?"

Kate sighed and nodded. "Same as before. Just as intense. When you touched me, woke me up, I thought it was him." She saw the brief flash of anger in his eyes, causing her to smile at him. Oddly enough, it comforted her. "Don't be mad, James. It was just a lingering effect of the dream."

"You know I would never hurt you…" He was cut off by her lips pressing sweetly against his.

"I know," she said quietly. His arms unfolded, opening themselves for her to lean into. Kate obliged, moving easily into his embrace. This time, she relaxed into him, feeling her body melt into his.

They were quiet for a while. James held onto her, slowly rocking back and forth with her in his arms. He felt the change in her breath and looked down to see that his wife had fallen asleep once more. He smiled softly down at her. That was the fastest she had fallen asleep after one of these episodes yet. His head bent down to press a kiss in her hair as he continued to rock her.

* * *

Kate awoke a few hours later to see James' face right next to her, his eyes open, just watching her. She smiled lazily at him.

"Did you stay up the rest of the night?" she asked, letting out a small yawn. He gave her a small grin.

"Maybe."

Truthfully, he had. He couldn't find it in himself to fall asleep again. Instead, he'd stayed up, watching over his wife. Making sure that she was okay. His hand came up to brush back some of the hair from her face and he leaned in to meet her lips with his own. After a few moments, they pulled apart, eyes locked.

"You didn't have to do that," Kate finally said. He grinned again.

"I love you," was his only response.

Laughing slightly, Kate got out of bed, throwing on her robe. James followed suit, a little slower than her. Before he could turn around, he felt her arms come around him from behind. Kate pressed her lips in a small kiss to his left shoulder blade.

"Thank you, James," Kate whispered softly.

"For what?"

"For chasing them away," she replied before heading across the hall to the nursery.

James smiled as he grabbed his phone. Turning it on he was startled to see multiple messages. Frowning, he lifted the phone to his ear and listened to the various voice mails, all from Carlos. Obviously Carlos had drunk dialed him a few too many times. He laughed at each message, until he got to the last one. His eyes widened as he listened to it, repeating it twice more just to be sure.

Slowly, he walked into the nursery. Kate was finishing up changing Naomi as he stepped into the doorway. Lifting the child up in her arms, she turned to face him. Kate was startled to see the look on his face.

"James? What is it? What's going on?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"You know how Carlos went to Las Vegas?" Kate nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, he got pretty trashed last night and left me quite a few messages."

"Is he okay?"

At that, James let out a small laugh. "I think he and Amanda got married last night."


End file.
